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historyhermann · 9 months

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Unicorn: Warriors Eternal Spoiler-Filled Review

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is a mature supernatural fantasy comedy with steampunk elements. Genndy Tartakovsky, who is well-known in the animation industry, is the director and creator. He is best known for Dexter's Laboratory, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Sym-Bionic Titan, and Samurai Jack, and more recently, Primal. This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, being reviewed here, wouldn't exist.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the forty-first article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on July 24, 2023.

This series has a simple plot: a group of heroes are inadvertently awakened by Copernicus, a steam-powered robot, in bodies of three teenagers (Emma, Alfie, and Dimitri), rather than in bodies of adults, like in the past. These heroes are opposed by a mysterious foxlike woman (voiced by Grey DeLisle), who embodies evil.

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal drew me in as a person who enjoyed watching Star Wars: Clone Wars as a kid (and have re-watched it various times), and liked Samurai Jack and Sym-Bionic Titan. Voice actors like Jacob Dudman (voice of Edred) who voiced two characters in Primal, and DeLisle, voice of the mysterious woman and the original Melinda, strengthen this series.

Delisle is well-known for her work in animation, including voicing characters in Invincible, Kid Cosmic, The Owl House, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, DC Super Hero Girls, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Elena of Avalor, Star Wars Rebels, The Legend of Korra, Young Justice, and My Life as a Teenage Robot. In contrast, Hazel Doupe, the voice of Emma in this series, is unique. This is her first voice role, as she has only done live-action series before.

I wasn't as familiar with Jeremy Crutchley, Demari Hunte, Alain Uly, Tom Milligan, Ron Bottita, or George Webster, the voices of Merlin, Alfie, Seng, Lord Edward Fairfax, and Winston in Unicorn: Warriors Eternal. I say this even though Crutchley voiced Glad-One and One in Infinity Train, and Uly as Lieutenant Maylur and two stormtroopers in Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Others, such as Hunte, Milligan, Bottita, Webster, appear to be new to voice work. Rosalind Ayres (voice of Lord Katherine Fairfax) previously voiced characters in video games while Robbie Daymond (voice of various one-off characters) lent his voice to the notorious Curious Cat in Volume 9 of RWBY! He voiced Jesse in Infinity Train season 2, Raymond in OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes!, and many other English dubs of anime characters.

The steampunk setting in Victorian London, in 1890, in this series, reminded me of Steamland in Disenchantment, the upper city in Arcane, or the similarly steampunk action anime, Princess Principal, which spawned a multi-part film series. The steampunk genre has even reached into indie animation and comics. It includes films like Snowpiercer, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Howl's Moving Castle, along with animated series like Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water and The Legend of Korra. I am even reminded of an unaired 2001 pilot for Constant Payne, by Indigenous writer Micah Wright. It has a strong steampunk aesthetic.

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is different than all of those previously mentioned. It is unique in its own way. Just as Samurai Jack was set in the future, with magic, robots, lasers, and the like, this series is set in an alternate world. Unlikely the haphazard and strange inclusion of futuristic technology in the far-too-short Yasuke, this series is much more complete. It draws inspiration from works by animators Max Fleischer and Osamu Tezuka, films by Hayao Miyazaki (like Howl's Moving Castle) and other steampunk aesthetics.

The show's character designer, Stephen DeStefano, worked on Sym-Bionic Titan, Primal, and other projects, with Tartakovsky. He pushed, as did Tartakovsky, to ensure the series had an "old aesthetic" but was told "in a very contemporary way". The studio producing the series, Cartoon Network Studios, has produced many of Tartakovsky's previous projects. Some of the same animators who worked on his previous projects may be working on this series.

These animators could not do their work without the writers. If a recently circulated spreadsheet is representative of Cartoon Network Studios as a whole, it would mean that, for animators, there is repetitive work, little opportunity for advancement, sterile environment due to the Warner-Discovery merger, disorganization, burnout, and overwork. There are two primary show writers: Darrick Bachman and Tartakovsky. While the latter is more well-known, the former is not, despite his work on Primal, Samurai Jack, Regular Show, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and many animated series, some of which he worked on with Tartakovsky.

If Glassdoor is accurate, each of these writers makes somewhere between $46,000 to $83,000 a year. I would guess that Tartakovsky is paid more than Bachman. In any case, the conditions the writers work in influences whether a show is "high-quality" or "low-quality". High Guardian Spice was said to be the latter, until it was revealed that the working conditions at Crunchyroll were horrendous. This does not appear to be the case for Cartoon Network Studios. The recent closure of the iconic studio's headquarters, with employees told to move to a sterile, lifeless Warner Bros. building instead, it does not bode well.

Even some predicted that under David Zaslav, it is difficult to "imagine a future in which the studio’s original animation output can match what it has been in the past," with a strong shit to reboots rather than original series. However, if the writers, and actors, are successful in their strike, these conditions may change for the better. On the other hand, the studios are doing all they can to burn down motivation of actors and writers, while stockpiling completed works and scripts before the strikes began.

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Coming back to the series, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is a relatable coming-of-age story. The protagonist, Emma (who can transform into Melinda) is struggling to determine whether she is "Emma" or "Melinda". She loses control of her powers after any emotional outburst she has. Having one's powers tied to their emotions is not new. In the last half of Elena of Avalor's final season, the protagonist, Elena Castillo Flores, had to wrestle with the fact that her magical abilities were tied to her emotional moods. The same was the case for Steven Universe in the series of the same name, and in Steven Universe Future.

For Emma/Melinda, her anger and fury seem to be how she expresses her power, in a super saiyan esque transformation. While this expression of raw power can be effective in defeating enemies, it doesn't prevent her from hurting people, unintentionally, in the process. For instance, in the second episode, she uses this power to defeat a huge magically possessed elephant. However, her fiancé Winston is badly hurt in the process and the surrounding area is nearly obliterated.

The use of her abilities in Unicorn: Warriors Eternal are complicated by her relationship with Edred, a warrior elf. He reincarnates in the body of a wanna-be magician named Dimitri. After Copernicus resurrects him, he rushes over to Emma/Melinda, and kisses her. While he has memories of their relationship, Melinda-as-Emma does not. Making matters worse, she still has some romantic feelings for Winston, who wants to "rescue" her from her "new" form.

This contrasts with Edred. He can effectively fight with a sword in manner which almost seems reminiscent of the sword-wielders in anime or those in Western animations like Amphibia, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and Steven Universe. Like all Tartakovsky productions, Edred has his own specific style. Every character is stylized in their own way. This is thanks to the aforementioned character designer, DeStefano, and work by many others at Cartoon Network Studios. The same is the case for their battle moves and attacks. It sets the series apart from others with similar themes.

The team of Emma/Melinda, a cosmic monk named Seng (in the body of a young Black ruffian named Alfie), Copernicus, and Edred, make an interesting combination. Each has personal issues they must overcome. Seng cannot fully comprehend the cosmic plane as a young child. Edred has a "clouded" mind despite having a largely intact memory and retains his power. Emma/Melinda has an identity crisis. She even tells Winston, at one point, that she isn't Emma anymore and that the Emma he knew is dead. This is a cold, hard truth which is hard for him to accept.

The complications in each character's lives make it an increasing challenge for these heroes, whose souls are tasked with protecting the world throughout eternity. With the scrambled memories, especially of Emma/Melinda, and the fact that only Edred remembers the most about their role in fighting evil, it makes the story that much more intriguing. The secretive villain is almost as devious as Shadowy Figure in O.K. KO!, but shares more characteristics with Kilgore in Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part 1. He aimed to change the Justice League into teenagers, so they are "vulnerable", are ripped apart by the world, and have to deal with emotions they ignore or regress as adults.

There is one major difference. The villain in Unicorn: Warriors Eternal never intended on awakening the Order of the Unicorn (Melinda, Seng, Edred, and Copernicus). Instead, she wanted to destroy Copernicus so the order would cease to exist. The villain exploits the situation for her own ends. She hopes that these heroes will be resurrected one final time. The heroes will do anything they can to stop this evil, with Edred declaring that the villain will "not succeed".

In future seasons, Melinda's insecurities may be exploited just as Invictus did with Ash Graven in Final Space. If so, she may turn against her friends. It is hard to say whether the series villain will be as devious as Aku, who had built an entire empire and dedicated many of his resources to track down Samurai Jack.

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By the show's third episode, there is a clear focus on discrimination, specifically how humans will "other" that which they don't understand. The response of the British police and Scotland Yard to a theft of priceless artifacts bound for the British Museum is to arrest anyone engaged in "magic" in London. There are mass arrests of soothsayers, fortune tellers, and anyone else on Mystic Row.

To make matters worse, they put up a Wanted poster for Emma/Melinda. Even when two spiritualists, Clarice Leydoux and Lao Xi Sheng, tell the police detective the reality, he doesn't believe them. Clearly, the police in this series, including Inspector General Hastings (voiced by Gildart Jackson), do not know how to deal with the situation at hand. People such as Agatha (voiced by Rosalind Ayres), another royal official, try and put in place more order.

Through it all, Emma/Melinda tries to figure out herself. She isn't sure of her connection with Winston, who she inadvertently injured. She even goes to a seance which separated her two identities, making her question whether she wants to be a hero or not. As a result, she declares that she hates the other part of herself. Her father even realizes that she is different, remarking "that is not our daughter". Winston remains in pursuit, even when he clashes with Edred on who "truly" loves her.

After the first two episodes, the series explored the insecurities of Seng. The villains cause him to be swallowed by a cosmic fox. The latter, known as a Lady Fox, attacks them. An amazingly animated chase scene on the rooftops follows, reminding me of similar scenes in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Samurai Jack. In the fourth episode, this is more apparent. Seng is unable to use his powers while he is trapped on an abandoned ship with other Unicorn team members. He even starts to become translucent! Although they escape this predicament, it could foreshadow more trouble for Seng in the future.

As Emma/Melinda learns more about the story of her Melinda side, with the child version of original Melinda voiced by Marley Cherry Hilbourne. She learns that her mother, Morgan Le Fay (voiced by Peta Johnson), was terribly injured, thanks to her. It is revealed that Merlin (voiced by Jeremy Crutchley) is her father. The conflict between the two halves of herself remains an important part of the story. This is especially the case when they all fight a big squid threatening to destroy the town. Her attempts at reconciliation do not go well, even though she is making some progress by the seventh episode.

At the end of the fifth episode, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal takes a bold step: it appears to kill off one of its protagonists, Copernicus. This is comparable to a similar "loss" of Octus in Sym-Bionic Titan. While Emma/Melinda is most distraught, she works together with Edred to find someone to repair Copernicus. They find an inventor named Otto (voiced by Jason O'Mara), thanks to a robot named Dashwood (voiced by Chris Butler). He works on a huge floating airship, which functions like a space station.

He remarks that Copernicus is like a robot he hasn't created yet, but he says it feels familiar. Copernicus cannot fully come back until his magical power is restored. He is a futuristic magical being. The power from an ancient magical stone is used by Merlin. He brings Copernicus back to life. Even so, this sequence implies that Copernicus can die, in certain instances.

The seventh episode of Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is a rollercoaster ride. It is revealed that Edred left his bride-to-be, in an arranged marriage meant to unite two clans, to be with Melinda. At the same time, it is further implied that Emma/Melinda somewhat remembers this. The quest to get the necessary magical power, the presence of Merlin, and restoration of balance, causes Edred's brother, Aelwulf (voiced by Jack Bandeira), to regain respect for him.

At the end of the seventh episode, the Unicorn team learns that they still have evil to fight, and that their time in this world has not ended. It is implied that Merlin will help they stop it. The eighth episode throws this into question. Out of nowhere, Merlin appears and tells them to come "quickly" to battle an evil machine killing the land. While they meet the mighty tiger Rakshasa (voiced by Sunkrish Bala), Merlin attacks Emma/Melinda, surprising them all.

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The last three episodes of Unicorn: Warriors Eternal lay bare tensions between the group members. This is clear with the addition of a new member, Winston, who can become a werewolf. Predictably, Edred objects, as Winston has feelings for Emma/Melinda. All the while there is the fight against evil, which exudes dark magic.

This reaches a critical point in the ninth episode when the evil leaves Merlin and enters the cosmic realm. They meet an older Seng who has been fighting it for over 20 years, with no success. It is said that if the evil devours everything, the world will end. Merlin and Rakshasa remain optimistic until Emma and Melinda are split apart.

I wish Unicorn: Warriors Eternal had been longer. By the eighth episode, it appears that Melinda is coming to peace with the part of her who is Emma, and vice versa. This seemed too quick. Her struggle with her identity could have stretched across an entire season of 20 to 26 episodes. Take Cassandra in Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, for example. She is mentally manipulated by Zhan Tri. Even so, she tries to figure out her identity and how she feels about Rapunzel. Like that series, which ended with a bang, this series is burdened by compulsory heterosexuality. Tangled differs by featuring well-recognized gay vibes between Rapunzel and Cassandra, shipped by fans as "Cassunzel".

Much of the internal struggle that Emma/Melinda experiences is couched by a love triangle. Emma loves Winston, while Melinda loves Edred. However, Edred hates Winston and vice versa. Due to the propensity of male characters in this series, there isn't any character, female, non-binary, or otherwise, written for Emma/Melinda that would allow her to have a queer romance.

Even so, the struggle of Emma to reunite with Melinda, resulting in defiance of her by-the-book parents, is promising. Considering this series is set in the 1890s, it is no shock that Emma's parents try to hold her back. They think she is out of her mind and want to bring her to a doctor, who will commit her to an asylum. Her actions, including drawing on equations on the walls of the bathroom, akin to the oft-memed scene from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia in which Pepe Silvia goes on a conspiratorial rant, don't help her case. In her defense, she is desperate and wants to get back to the cosmic realm at any cost.

This episode goes off the rails when two huge men try to capture Emma and bring her to "the doctor". What follows is an intense chase scene in which Emma has many near-death experiences, and barely escapes those trying to get her, even riding a steam-powered tram to Mystics Row. Two mystic warriors (Clarice Leydoux and Lao Xi Sheng) offer to help her. With their assistance, she uses the Heart of the Forest to get to the cosmic realm.

The Unicorn: Warriors Eternal finale concludes strongly. Emma inspires everyone, reuniting with Melinda, and convinces them to combine their powers into one. They strike a decisive blow against evil forces. This is blunted by the surprising revelation: Morgan is trapped in the heart of the evil beast! At the end of the episode, the protagonists find themselves in a bizarre world in which "the evil" has changed everything. Emma/Melinda gets the last word, noting their determination to save Morgan and defeat the evil being no matter what.

The ending is not definitive, but is open-ended. The central conflict rings true, especially if seen as a metaphorical extension of Genndy Tartakovsky as a Jewish immigrant who faced pressure to support his mother and live up to the myth of a "model minority". A possible second, or even third, and fourth season, could expand upon these characters and their struggles. Possibly, the series may go an Infinity Train route, having different characters for each season.

I hope that any possible future seasons of Unicorn: Warriors Eternal would increase diversity of the cast. Surely, there are talented voice actors like a Black men Demari Hunte (voice of Seng) and Victor Alli (voice of Adult Seng). They are joined by a Filipino man, Alain Uy (voice of Lao Xi Sheng), an American actor of Tamil descent, Sunkrish Bala (voice of Rakshasa), and a British actor of Iraqi, Lebanese, and Indian descent, Brian George (voice of Darvish).

From the available lists of the cast members, I'm not seeing much diversity beyond the aforementioned individuals. A quick read of the cast list for Primal, indicates that the series has a much more diverse cast than this series! Perhaps, this is just reflecting the fact that historically, London was ethnically homogeneous, composed primarily of White British residents, until after World War II. By 1891, over 5.6 million were living in Greater London, a number which would grow in later years.

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Cartoon Network Studios president, Sam Register, is an executive producer, and Shareena Carlson is supervising director. Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is expertly animated thanks to Studio La Cachette in France and Studio Zmei in Bulgaria. Cartoon Network Studios is the aforementioned production company. This is reinforced by the show's music, composed by Tyler Bates and Joan Higginbottom. It is effective, connecting the action with the story. It makes you excited to watch each episode, and become more invested in the characters.

None of this is much of a surprise. Bates is a well-known producer, composer, and musician, primarily of action and horror media, including the John Wick franchise. He was probably chosen because he composed the music scores of Sym-Bionic Titan, the fifth (and final) season of Samurai Jack, and Primal.

Similarly, Higginbottom was a composer on the same season of Samurai Jack, Primal, and John Wick Chapter 4. Tara Billinger, known as the creator of Long Gone Gulch and a storyboarder, did production work on the series as well. The animators either worked on French productions not known in the U.S., or series such as Love, Death & Robots, and Primal. Even Tartakovsky did some storyboarding. The animation, background art, and set pieces are strong in this series.

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal may have been a passion project for Tartakovsky. However, it is incorrect that the plot is "humdrum". Furthermore, Emma/Melinda is not a "poorly written" character, nor does she have a "pat dilemma" or lack emotional complexity. Her struggles are at the series' center. On the other hand, this series, like Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Sym-Bionic Titan, and Primal, is male-centered. In fact, Emma/Melinda is the only female protagonist.

The series has "urgent stakes" and the characters are intriguing. This accompanies amazing mythologies and some worldbuilding. It could be better, but it is not missing "the magic of Tartakovsky". Instead, this series is unique and different from other Tartakovsky series in the past. Surely, I'd love to have queer characters and even have a love triangle akin to the one between Hazumu Osaragi, Yasuna Kamiizumi, and Tomari Kurusu in Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl. Unfortunately, this series did not go that direction, instead having male-female couples, without any one-way crushes.

Overall, despite my criticisms, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is an enjoyable series and I'd recommend it. I can hope that it improved to become even better, breaking out of the good-evil dichotomy, and other common tropes used in Tartakovsky's work.

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal can be watched on Adult Swim or streamed on Max, DirectTV, and Spectrum. It can be purchased through Prime Video, Google Play, Vudu, or Microsoft Store.

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zealouscanonindeer · 1 year

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6. Window of...opportunity

Series Masterlist

Sherlock Holmes:

While Emily busied herself with unpacking (I was amazed at the volume of clothing that that woman unfurled from her luggage, like a stage magician producing yards of cloth from the hat of an unsuspecting bystander), I took it upon myself to explore the study. I had seen almost immediately the impracticality of both of us sharing that single bedroom, as it was indeed cozy – perfect for a married couple but quite unsuited for my purposes in this case.

The study was half again the size of the adjoining bedroom, with three of its walls lined with shelves bearing dusty tomes of varying degrees of interest, most of them literature or philosophy. Against the wall beneath the window was a writing-desk and chair. The one wall bare of books was instead dominated by another fireplace; the ashes and half-cremated logs still within and the presence of the connecting door between the study and the bedroom suggested that the original owner of the bedroom was a great lover of reading and frequently spent many long hours ensconced within.

In the middle of the room and directly in front of the fireplace was a well-used sofa, its cushions beginning to sag from many years' worth of sitting. Nearer to the fireplace was a wing-backed chair, with its accompanying footrest, both newer than the sofa but beginning to show signs of wear. The chair and footrest were positioned so that the devoted reader could warm his feet before the fire on cold evenings, such as this one was likely going to be.

As I was not unaccustomed to spending long nights sitting in my own study, I decided that this study would suffice as a post from which I could keep watch over the bedroom and my volunteer tonight. To make sure I had covered every detail in my initial examination, I checked the window and its thumb-latch. Both were in good condition, and neither the latch nor the sash showed any signs of tool-marks or tampering or any kind, nor were there scuff-marks on the sill where anyone might have stepped on it to gain entry. Adding to the puzzle was a row of prickly hedges immediately below the window, which would certainly have presented some difficult to any cat-burglar who did not have great ingenuity

I made sure the window was locked and returned to the bedroom, where Emily was halfway through hanging up a number of dresses in the wardrobe. I conceded silently that perhaps my earlier judgment of her luggage was a bit premature, as I saw only the expected number of full outfits that society decreed that a well-dressed woman required for the day – the morning dress, the day dress, and the dinner dress – multiplied by two days. The difficulty, of course, had been in the sheer volume of fabric, plus whatever arcane devices were required to accompany or augment the feminine wardrobe.

The details were, so I believed, none of my concern.

I opened the curtains (which I remembered being closed before) and examined the bedroom window, which was guarded by the continuation of the same prickly hedges. It, too, showed no signs of forced entry.

Presently Emily joined me, peering outside, almost as if she were looking for someone.

"Do you see him outside?" Emily asked making her way back to the wardrobe.

I turned to face her. "Do I see whom outside?" I asked, and then started looking for anyone amiss out the window.

"I guess it's the gardener, Mr Fairfax. I saw him earlier when we visited the backyard, and he seemed to show an inordinate interest in me."

I paused in my search and glanced over my shoulder at her. "Inordinate how?"

She looked more than a bit disgusted. "He was staring at me, but it was like… well, it wasn't the sort of look a gentleman offers to a lady, married or not. It made my skin crawl. I don't know how the Hammonds haven't seen anything like it before."

"Was he outside just now, while I was in the study?" I asked.

"I saw him going out to the hothouse a few minutes ago, but he was looking around like he didn't want anyone to see him. I shut the curtains in case he tried to peek in."

"Well, keep your wits about you," I advised her, "He may bear watching, but just remember that people can be ill-mannered without meaning any harm."

"All right, but I'm keeping the curtains shut from now on, if it's all the same to you." She sighed and returned to her unpacking (of which she appeared to have only her unmentionables remaining), while I obliged her wishes and shut the curtains. "Did you find anything interesting in the study?"

"The bad news is that I've found no signs of past forced entry – no tool-marks or suspicious scratches or scuff-marks – by either this window or the one in the study, so we can safely eliminate those routes of entry if we make certain to lock both of them tonight."

"Do you have any good news, then?"

"I did find a place from which to keep watch tonight. The chair before the fireplace seems well-suited for a comfortable vigil."

She managed a faint smile. "Just don't go falling asleep while you're on watch."

"I won't," I reassured her, "You have my word upon that."

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dulcepcriculum · 2 years

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* † [ tuppence middleton , she/her + cis woman ] : is that LENNOX FAIRFAX wandering around ? under these neon lights i swore they looked like a DRUID, but in actuality they are a FIXER / PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR. the THIRTY FOUR YEAR OLD is known to be CHAOTIC and MISGUIDED, albeit HEAD STRONG and AMBITIOUS. after spending TEN YEARS in sin city, their favourite song to hum is CLOSER by CLANN, though people often associate them with a harsh street lamp discolouring leaves in the night / blood, ash, and honey smeared over pale lips / flowers blooming from a decayed rib cage, dark ichor still seeping from the bone / blackened fingers digging into white wax.

i. basics.

name: lennox elizabeth fairfax. nickname(s): len, lenny. age/dob: 34 / july 1 1988. birthplace: chelsea, london, england. species: druid. hair color: platinum blonde with a streak of blue. eye color: hazel. height: 5′ 7″. build: slim. gender, pronouns & sexuality: cis woman, she/her, bisexual biromantic. relationship status: single. occupation: fixer / private investigator. spoken language: english, greek, latin (written-based), basic arabic, basic icelandic. summation title: the hellion. traits: (+) ambitious, head-strong, resourceful. (-) chaotic, misguided, mistrusting. character comparisons: jules vaughn (euphoria), floki (vikings), willy wonka (willy wonka & the chocolate factory), fox mulder (the x-files), audrey home (twin peaks), klaus hargreeves ( the umbrella academy), clementine kruczynski (eternal sunshine of the spotless mind), river tam (firefly + serenity), mia wallace (pulp fiction), mystique (x-men), sabrina spellman (chilling adventures of sabrina), powder (arcane).

ii. about.

(tw for death)

neither well off or poor, the fairfax family lead an average life in the eyes of friends and neighbours. lennox and her older brother were average students as good as the next kid, as deviant as the one after, but were connected to the hip when off on their own. maybe it was the large gap in age between the two that brought them closer together--- finn being an only child for so long that when she came along it meant he had someone to show all of his interests to, all of his hobbies and friends. wherever he went, his kid sister was beside him exploring the streets of london.

behind closed doors, however, he was teaching her everything he learned in the ways of magic from their parents and then more, methods and information he picked up on his own. he was the watchful eye to make sure she didn’t do something rash on a playground as well as ensure that despite the druid lineage she remained connected to the outside world and a part of it. while both of their parents were present in the home, did what they could to be involved in their children’s lives, finn was more of a parent to her than either of the taller shadows looming in the background of every memory.

it started with a birthday gift, a film camera that their parents said was too mature for a newly turned seven year old to have without breaking it. the camera was a staple around her neck on every adventure she had with him, any family outing or holiday. she ran out of film constantly, procured more through questionable means (stole) when it wasn’t immediately replenished. it fell once, for the record, by no other cause than pure accident she couldn’t be blamed for. finn went out the next day and replaced the lens without a complaint toward expenses.

the hobby, passion, turned into the beginning of a career. lennox applied to university programmes for photography and photojournalism will a portfolio over a decade in the making, some featuring being who inspired her. by then she had the full support of her family knowing well she couldn’t be separated from her ambition, never could be convinced out of an idea. too many scars and bruises were acquired to get the right shot that to tell her it wasn’t a profitable career meant more bruises would be made, that if it was better to stay close to home she’d sneak away in the night. so with a blessing and an expectation to come back over break, she went to scotland for school.

she was beginning her postgraduate classes when her parents called--- and that should have been enough of a sign to know something was wrong. a part of her wondered if she missed signs in the ether, if her talent with the elements waned from being distracted by the human world. nothing, nothing gave warning that finn was murdered before she heard the words from her mother.

lennox immediately came home. all they knew was he was coming home from work in the city, that he’d been attacked. her parents insisted to let the police handle it but len turned toward spell casting for answers. she was warned in her frantic search that turning to dark magic, that delving into the world of the dead would get her kicked from their home. within a week, the fairfax family lost both of their children.

it didn’t matter the means, lennox eventually found the answers she wanted. they were underwhelming and left more questions to her already shattered and scattered heart. and with no home left to return to, she decided england itself couldn’t be a home either and travelled to the united states instead. death seemed to follow her, already waiting for her in the city crawling with creatures that looked the other way for their own survival or encouraged it with so many loved ones begging for the same answers she was in her time of need. lennox decided to change her profession to getting such answers for anyone who asked.

years of living in las vegas, of being on her own, has made her more understanding to the circumstances of some of the violence within the city, some. it can be necessary at times, unreasonable and for pleasure at worst. because of various sources, lennox has opened her practice for various necessities as well, knowing well that the druids within the city might not understand that discouraged practices are sometimes needed for the best of intentions. she is no longer one to judge, only one to help by whatever means is required.

will be edited as information is discovered through muse or plotting.

iii. possible connections.

clientele: true to the druids of las vegas, lennox offers whatever one might be looking for, but without limitation or warning. the possibilities are limited to one’s imagination ( and physical exertion, of course ) and lennox has no qualms with indulging.

targets: and it’s very possible you didn’t hire her but she’s lingering around more than you’ve seen her before. perhaps a long lost sire wants to keep distance and requested information or someone knows what you’ve been up to and she has a camera ready to confirm it. are you hiding anything important?

associates: even practicing druids need suppliers for their craft and lennox is constantly in need of ingredients more questionable in nature. arrangements can be made, favors to be owned or simply money to be paid. are you willing to supply?

friends: the chaotic mess that she is, lennox is still very sociable and amicable, easy to care for other people who quickly resonate with her. however it is a connection that begins as a thread and must be reinforced over time; she is hesitant to trust even those whom she believes she can. once that reinforcement is settled, there’s nothing breaking that tie.

the hive minds: lennox uses whatever means necessary to achieve what she wants, but her work and methods can and have stepped into the worlds of the various hierarchies. her skill and expertise could be valuable to any of them ( especially to her own kin ) that a whisper in her ear to join might eventually encourage her. might. alternatively, her methods are not kosher or encouraged among many which might bring tensions or enemies to her doorstep. where do you stand?

more to be written...

iv. fun facts.

(tw for illness and injury)

pressing all buttons and pushing boundaries has its drawbacks and some are beginning to physically take a toll on her. it wouldn’t be the first nosebleed lennox had from exertion, or perhaps coughing up questionable colours after indulging in a darker magic. however, the tips of her fingers blackening with necrotic damage is new. only a few digits and barely noticeable for now. for now.

there are artistic photographs hanging around her small office. all of them were a part of her original portfolio when applying to studios.

has a pet skeleton tarantula named tau.

of her various cameras and surveillance equipment, her favorite and most used is her fujifilm x100 camera. if anything should happen to it, dark magic will be dealt.

more to come...

#pandemoniousintro

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arcanecarolinas · 7 months

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AC 00097 - Arcane Destinations: Virginia - Undead of Richmond, Spooky Stories from the Virginia Capitol, and The Bunny Man - GalaxyCon Richmond 2023

Join us for a trio of tales! First, sit down with us live at GalaxyCon Richmond from spring of 2023 and hear the story of Richmond's most famous undead. Then, we have a talk with friend of the show Jerry Chandler as he tells us spooky stories about the Virginia State Capitol complex and surrounding areas. Then we cap off this super-sized episode with a second recording from GalaxyCon talking about a hare-raising local legend from Fairfax, VA. Enjoy!

EXTRA SPECIAL: don't forget to pick up Arcane Carolinas: Volume 1, out now!

AWARD NOMINATIONS:

WRAL Voter's Choice Award Nominations (open through October 8)

Go to https://bit.ly/WRAL2023AC, then choose "Professional and Entertainment," then "Podcast" to nominate Arcane Carolinas!

Upcoming Live Appearances:

Join Charlie at the SC State Library (Columbia, SC - October 12, 2023 - 6:00 PM)

Arcane Carolinas on Patreon

Arcane Carolinas on Facebook

Arcane Carolinas on Instagram

Arcane Carolinas on Tumblr

[email protected]

Listen now!

#podcast #history #Carolinas #paranormal

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bunkershotgolf · 2 years

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Women a Focus at PGA Tour Superstore

By ED TRAVIS

PGA Tour Superstore (PGATSS), the largest golf-specific retailer in the U.S., continues to have record sales while expanding the number of locations and says clubs, apparel, and accessories specifically for women are an important focus to fuel additional growth.

In an exclusive interview with CEO and President Dick Sullivan he described how the company is working to erase the traditional male-centric approach to golf retailing and the ongoing program to create a woman-friendly experience in their stores. This initiative is an important part of Sullivan’s plans for PGATSS’s future and is already producing impressive results.

To illustrate Sullivan related how at the grand opening last August of the new store in Fairfax, Va. a long line was queuing prior to unlocking the doors and the fire marshal-imposed occupancy limit of 375 was hit within a half an hour. Perhaps this could be considered not too surprising as PGATSS prides itself on each customer’s visit being “experiential” which is a strong attraction in today’s post-pandemic retailing. Sullivan however also told me that the Fairfax grand opening saw more women’s apparel sold than men’s, a complete reversal of the usual pattern.

Consumers respond to retailers with a large stock of aggressively priced inventory where salespeople are friendly and knowledgeable. This of course applies to golf and especially when targeting women golfers, many of whom are new to the game and are looking for help purchasing equipment, plus they are demanding functional yet stylish apparel. Golfers of both sexes are drawn to PGATSS’s size with locations up to 50,000 square feet having multiple hitting bays offering computer simulators for lessons or practice, in-depth inventory of not just equipment but shoes and clothing and in fact most anything needed to play or improve.

As the pandemic changed everyone’s life it was soon realized golf was a perfect antidote for cabin-fever stress and an outdoors activity in which the entire family could participate. The number of golfers and number of rounds saw a dramatic rise of roughly 3 million in 2020 and the National Golf Foundation is forecasting the number to be higher in 2021. A major part of the increase was due to women finding the game fun and recent data shows about 40% of new participants on and off course are women.

According to Sullivan, “Thirty four percent of the new women golfers are under 18 years of age, and we plan to encourage them with more in-store events such as clinics.” He added women’s golf apparel has very much become a reflection of their lifestyle and pointed out, “Women are shopping for and choosing functional apparel and are used to a more relaxed wardrobe.”

“Fitness and wellness spending is exploding. Wardrobes are more casual, and more and more people are OK with a casual environment on the golf course.”

Emphasizing women have been and will be a focus of PGATSS efforts to grow participation in the game the company began “Get Golf Ready,” a series of six one-hour group sessions for novices. The goal is to make women more comfortable with golf’s sometimes-bewildering jargon, etiquette, and rules not to mention with the arcane world of equipment. Participants are taught the basic swing with PGTSS supplying clubs if the student needs them.

PGATSS is the official retailer of the nationwide Women’s Golf Day and a sponsor of other programs introducing women to the game. Showing the across-the-board commitment is a slogan the company often uses, “Girls Got Drive.” Growing-the-game is a long-term goal, so each location runs weekly free clinics to help juniors become part of the sport and last summer a First Tee Leadership Summit for 40 teens was hosted at PGATSS’s owner Arthur Blank’s ranch in Montana.

Additional support is provided to several other organizations dedicated to bringing more women into the game including “She Who Golfs,” “Fore the Ladies, and “Women on Course”

Sullivan was candid about the company’s struggle during the pandemic. “All our stores were closed 54 days during the Covid pandemic, but every vendor was paid on time and not a single employee was furloughed.” A remarkable record few companies, especially in retail, can match.

There have been inventory and supply chain concerns since first quarter 2020 leading to some items being in short supply. Sullivan said for example push carts and package club sets for women and juniors, “were going out the door as soon as they come in.”

At times extraordinary efforts were called for to meet customer demand. Sullivan told of taking delivery of several thousand wedges with no grips as an expedient from an unnamed manufacturer. However, typical of the pervasive make-lemonade-from-lemons credo, not only were the wedges made available to golfers for purchase, but the lack of a stock grip meant “each could be customized for the individual golfer to match the grips of the other irons in the bag.”

Speaking of the bounce back from being hit with the problems from closure and inventory supply Sullivan said, “We were able to have a rapid recovery, quick pick up and there was no slow down going into 2021.”

As chairman of the National Golf Foundation’s Board of Directors Sullivan is a recognized industry leader in both golf and retailing and was the first retail executive to be elected to be board chairman in the history of the Association.

Addressing the future of PGATSS Sullivan said, “We did as much business in the first half of 2021 as all of 2019 which was a record year and projections for 2021 have been increased 20 percent.” The growth of the largest golf-specific retailer continues. By the start of 2022 there will be 50 stores nationwide with plans to add as many as 10 each year and a National Hiring Day was held in early November to find all the new employees required.

Typical of Sullivan’s personal focus he closed our conversation with, “We are most proud of overcoming traditional barriers in golf retail while keeping our culture and attitude to be customer friendly.”

#golf #EdTravis

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jonjost · 6 years

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Drawing: Stephen Lack

Following the conspiracy lead of Steve Bannon and Breitbart, Donald Trump has grumbled and tweeted often about the Deep State, the purported nefarious grouping of hidden government persons lurking in the depths of the massive Federal apparatus of myriad acronymic masks. ICE NSA FBI CIA and on through to lesser known but equally evil entities. These are alleged to be conclaves, variously, of members of the Harvard elite, Yale’s Skull and Bones, Jewish cabalists, covens of Christian Fundamentalists, or whichever cluster-fuck you wish to designate, surely there will be a website or more devoted to reading the tea-leaves of the signals emitted from these organizational black holes and their swirling galaxies. Right and Left wing chatterboxes selectively cherry-pick whatever political tid-bits they wish and construct fabulist narratives around them, from the assassination of JFK to that of MLK to 9/11 and on to the Boston Marathon bombing. The existence of the internet gives wide berth for these to spawn, however false or true they might be.

Extracted from these events come tomes from scholars, Hollywood movies, novels and the rantings of Limbaugh, Hannity, Alex Jones and a host of lesser names. There’s millions to be made from these, and those mentioned have made theirs and more. Like America’s religious hucksters, there’s a lot of money to be made preying on the gullible and fearful, with which it seems our country is plentifully supplied. Welcome to the world of QAnon. It’s American as Apple Pie.

The Lakewood Mega-church, Dallas TX

For decades – well actually far longer than that, for centuries – America has been awash with conspiracy theories, reaching back to its founding. There were always traitors loose in the land, lluminati, the anti-christ, double-agents for foreign powers, the entire gamut of customary political war-horses, broad-brushes with which to paint your enemy. Today’s landscape is nothing new, just that for brief periods we like to pretend it ain’t so.

But, myths aside, it’s all the same old same old. As is governance itself.

Two deep-state members, John Brennan and General Michael Hayden, former chiefs of the CIA

Conspiracy theories, to take root, need soil, and the United States government has been rich tilling land for as long as its been around. Within long-term living memory those range from major matters, such as the concept that FDR and the government knew Pearl Harbor was coming, and let it happen. Jump ahead half a century, and the same it true of 9/11. In both cases there is ample evidence to suggest they are true, though the makers of American mythology adamantly insist that only a tin-foil hatter would believe such malarkey. After all, who could believe that our own government would allow such events to occur when their job is to protect us? Only a true nutter could believe such a thing, regardless of the massive evidence and logical reasons for such a thing to fit properly into a narrative.

And the same goes for lesser items from the assassination of JFK requiring magic bullets, and on down to such trivial things as using members of the military as guinea pigs for “scientific” experiments, or, well, hell, using whole cities like San Francisco to experiment with some new biological dispersal weapon. Or letting St. George, Utah, knowingly be a nice down-wind recipient of nuclear bomb test radiation and then spending decades denying the cancerous downside. In fact, the more one knows about Uncle Sam the more fertile the soil one finds for tin-foil hat thoughts.

Enter Donald, the wanna-be Queen’s tough guy sporting a giant borough-wide chip on his shoulder. A self-made man, so he insists (that million buck starter kit from Dad don’t count), he broke into the hard-as-nails world of Manhattan real-estate and built a solid gold (well, at least gold-plated) reputation as a party-animal, womanizer, builder of garish towers, possessor of serial-wives and of serial bankruptcies. And despite all that he wasn’t welcomed into the fold of the Manhattan elite, and here, decades later, bearing a grudge that deforms his face and body, and weighs on him like a WWF wrestler, he’s out to let them have it. Descending his golden escalator but 3 years ago, met by his adoring rent-a-crowd, he tossed his hat in the Presidential circus ring, and to wide amazement and laughter promptly vanquished the supposedly serious Republican candidates with school-yard taunts, and thereafter sent the world into shock when Hillary Clinton lost to him as well, if not in the general vote, then in the dubious Electoral College. The world has been aghast since, as The Donald charges like a raging bull, upsetting one institutionally rooted apple-cart after another, shredding the polite decorum and language of our traditional politics, and causing serious harm to the status quo. Just like he said he would.

Well, almost.

Having promised to “drain the swamp” The Don instead stocked the beltway with more alligator sleaze than anyone thought conceivable, stacking his Cabinet with grifters ready to dismantle their respective departments, and to feed at the Federal trough as quickly and mercilessly as possible. Having reduced his GOP Congressional majorities to the quivering sycophants they always were, our gangster godfather trashed protocols, ripped up treaties and obsessively uprooted anything having to do with Barack Hussein Obama while loudly bellowing his utterly unmasked racism. Supposedly serious Republicans held their silence while the Tea Party wing cheered lustily and the Don’s racist base went bananas. Doubtless never having actually read it, the man sworn to uphold the US Constitution, did, as G W Bush had suggested, and treated it as “a goddam piece of paper.” Toilet paper in this instance.

All of this behavior has transpired with little more than murmurs from the official opposition, the Democrats, who hide behind their minority status in the House and Senate whimpering there’s nothing they can do, their hands are tied until November, the mystical season of voting when the Great American Public is allowed to choose between corporately approved specimen A or B. And besides, they are as beholden to their corporate masters as the GOP, and should they speak too loudly the full depths of both-sides-of-the-aisle corruption would be fully exposed. Until then the pages of YouTube and Facebook are awash with videos of virulent racists yelling and screaming on camera, police killing blacks for being black, ICE round-ups of alleged illegal aliens, children stored in ex-Walmart boxes converted to instant prisons, and other pleasantries of the present American mental landscape, the ugly id of the nation having been exposed by Trump’s tearing off of the band-aid of PC politeness imposed by the prior administration.

Faced with this rupture of politics-as-normal, the nation has contorted itself into the unimaginable: the liberal-left now looks upon the FBI, the CIA and NSA as potential saviors, while the right, formerly the supposed champions of fiscal and moral rectitude, law & order, balanced budgets, goody-two-shoes ethics and virulent anti-Commie/Russiaphobes morphed instantaneously into Russiaphiles, haters of the deep-state combine of the FBICIANSA, and rabid pigs at the trough of corruption and racism. And not only trickle down economics, but also trickle down ethics, in this case in the form of terminal corruption. Hence the plague of YouTube racism and cop-killer videos.

You’re Fired! Former FBI Chief Comey

Enter the deep rumblings of the Deep State. Famed for having intervened in an attempted Richard Cheney machination during a breathless hospital visit to then Attorney General Ashcroft who lay seriously ill, while Cheney-Bush henchmen sought to secure his signature for a program of dubious legality, wearing his cloak as Ashcroft’s chief assistant, James Comey, life-long Republican, became a belated liberal hero, as did fellow Republican, Robert Mueller, then head of the FBI. See this for the full story. And now, a decade and some later, these two emerge from the deep bowels of the government yet again in tandem. As FBI chief, appointed by Obama and retained by Donald Trump, Comey was pressed by his new boss to swear a certain kind of loyalty, mob-style. Declining, he was summarily fired, though in a manner in which in the arcane convolutions of government he was able to secure the naming of a special counsel to investigate Russian skullduggery during the 2016 election. The Special Counsel named was none other than Robert Mueller. And not only that, but Comey also also did so in a manner which required Trump lackey Richard Sessions, Director of the Justice Department, to recuse himself from the investigation. All this served well for Trump to loudly complain that he was being undercut and back-stabbed by the Deep State, of which Trump cohort Steven Bannon and his program Breitbart had long complained.

Drawing by Stephen Lack

The news of the day of late swirls with the constant word of criminality in high places – the current Manafort trial pealing the skin off the fancy-suited world of business and politics, with fantastical numbers, a litany of off-shore banking havens, and enough moral sleaze to last forever. Or until the next, around-the-corner, trial to reveal still deeper depravity. Or Avenatti’s latest lurid spill of The Don’s hushed-up sex-capades.

James Clapper, former head of the NSA

Legally, lying to a Congressional committee is a crime, whether under oath or not, punishable by up to five years in prison, or in some instances more. James Clapper was head of the NSA, (whom it turns out went to Annandale HS, Fairfax VA, 1956-60, same time I did, though I do not recall knowing him then, but my sister does), in testimony to Congress lied. Caught at it, he recanted in a Clintonesque manner, parsing the exact meaning of “spying” etc.

John Brennan, Ex-Director of CIA

Mr Brennan, former director of the CIA, outspoken of late regarding Donald Trump -saying his comportment in Helsinki was “treasonous” – is himself in a problematic position, having also lied to Congress, just as did Clapper. In his case regarding torture and such nice things.

And of course Mr Comey, fired director of the FBI, is also accused by some of lying, or at least fudging regarding leaks from his office. All in all, a charming cluster of characters, all deeply enmeshed in governmental agencies which traffic in secrecy as a part of their function. Naturally a good setting for conspiratorial actions. So small wonder that thoughts of a Deep State tend to focus on this area, along with the military.

That this nexus of fellows engaged in the sordid arts of secrecy and executors of the dirty deeds of the US government should all re-emerge in unison, though this time wearing super-hero cloaks for some liberals, indeed raises a peculiar stench, the smell of something rotten deep in the bowels of America’s government: Yes, Virginia, there is a secret Deep State.

And yes, it seeks to defend its institutional status and powers, just as do almost all bureaucratic institutional organizations. In this case, these institutions (and 14 other “security” organizations under the umbrella of the Unites States Government), all seek to carry out their jobs as protectors of the corporate/business powers for which and on behalf of which that government exists. And when by some quirk of circumstance, something or someone inimical to those interests occurs, it is their function to work together to challenge and defeat that intruding force. And such, in the instance of Donald John Trump, is the case.

Were the Republican Party a healthy political party in American terms, it would have never allowed Trump to emerge as its nominee for President. In a “healthy” state it would have vetted him, researched his background, and done whatever was necessary to assure he did not become their candidate. But the Republican Party, like the rest of the society it is rooted in, is, exactly as is the Democrat Party, utterly corrupt, and has been so for some decades, steadily rotting away until it became a steaming fetid swamp of oligarchism marinated in All-American racism. The Democrats were equally corrupt, utterly owned by corporate powers, and utterly out-of-touch with what neo-liberal policies – their policies – had done to broad areas of the American public.

And as were and are the political parties of the USA, so too all its institutions are corrupt: the Congress, the Courts, the Executive Branch, the 5th Estate, the corporate world, Wall Street. Every. Damn. One. Of. Them.

So it is little wonder that along with all these pillars of American society that the Deep State is likewise corrupt. Any decent working Deep State would have some time ago arranged a plausibly deniable accident, be it on the ground, Air Force One, or a berserk White House Guard, and Trump would already be fodder for further conspiracy theorists to figure out who done it. But thus far, confronted with the Keystone Kops of the inept, obvious, utterly corrupted government of the most comical Don imaginable, the hard-men of the Deep State have thus far fumbled the ball, and the Trump gang, though snookered by their own glaring stupidity, is still standing.

So yes, Don, yes there is a Deep State, and it is certainly out to get you. But it is just like you, and is inept and as flaccid as your butt is, unable to shift from the SOP of the Cold War to a world in which Tweets shift the market up and down and idiocy rules the White House, and few care if the President consorts with prostitutes and stuffs his government full with nepotism and cronyism. After all, most of them are doing exactly the same things.

Meantime America burns.

Trump supporters, Florida

Painting by Stephen Lack

California forest fires seen from above the clouds

The Deep State and the Don(ald) Drawing: Stephen Lack Following the conspiracy lead of Steve Bannon and Breitbart, Donald Trump has grumbled and tweeted often about the…

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niennavalier · 3 years

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OC Ramble Time Pt 2!

Okay, so I'm gonna try to keep these a bit shorter (because the other post took way too long), since I'm gonna do a bit of talking about some of the other characters who are attached to the Disaster Boys (Anders and Alex) story and all that good stuff. So... just jump right in I guess?

Elias Elsker: So pretty much, if you read my whole thing about Anders, Elias is the kid that he takes in. He's real energetic and fun, very open while simultaneously being really awkward (not that it really bothers him). Honestly, he's just really friendly and loves people - animals, too (he's learned a bit of magic and usually has his snake familiar, Xanathar, somewhere nearby). (If you know D&D lore, yes, that's a reference, because Elias also started as a character for me to play. Arcane Tricksters, y'know?). Also impulsive, albeit not in a super self-destructive way. More like his cost-benefit analysis is just bad and sometimes he just does something kinda dumb. He's also pretty jumpy and very prone to running into furniture when his brain goes into panic mode.

Overall, he's just well-adjusted. Yes, he lost his parents young, but he had a good relationship with them, and then also grows really close with Anders. Just wanted a character who didn't have a bunch of issues for once, yknow?

For some other random facts: I tend to write him at either 16 or 21ish, depending - sometimes I wanna write him still learning from Anders, sometimes while he's more out on his own. Also, he's ace and some sort of romantic (AKA, he doesn't fully know and hasn't put a label on it, but if I were to say as the author, he's probably panromantic) and really fun to write/play for those relatable ace moments.

Aishah Rayyan: Alex's twin sister, so I won't go into her backstory in depth, except to say that she came out of their tragic past really differently. She got pretty much adopted into her best friend's family, so while Alex was having a rough time, she ended up having a relatively normal life - albeit with some guilt over losing contact with her brother, and, well, the effects of childhood trauma and the like. She and Alex reconnect over the course of whatever plot I actually write for them, and after all of whatever that is, they and all their other friends (talked about down below) end up all living together. And in that dynamic, she's 100% the mom friend. But less doting and more Tired. She's generally pretty laid-back, practical, and would love a quiet night in with loved ones, but ends up in this constant state of "please stop blowing up [insert kitchen appliance here], I haven't even kind of had enough coffee for this." At least before probably trying to fix the problem, until her girlfriend shepherds her to bed. (And that's assuming she's not hyperfocused in on something, because sometimes that's just what happens. Given a problem, she's gonna solve it).

(Oh, and quick note, she's the other old character who's since gotten reworked. Old tag was for "Taylor Fairfax" but then, unlike with Alex, she went through a pretty massive edit.)

Celine: Nope, no last name yet because names are hard, but she's Aishah's girlfriend. She's about the same age, just a little younger, and an aspiring theatre actress. She's really outgoing and warm, charismatic and super easy to get along with. More than a touch dramatic. Also a lot more traditionally feminine than most of the other female characters I write, and sort of the other resident mom friend, but...I guess in the more stereotypical way? (And she's really vocal about her support for Anders and Alex in particular - she finds them adorable and is one of few people who's never been intimidated by Anders. She just sees how he melts in front of people he cares about).

Oh, also, she and Aishah met at some sort of community theatre performance. The story that their friends tell is basically that in the middle of a scene, as she was on stage and Aishah was in the audience, their eyes just met, and that was it. Obviously, in reality, it wasn't that simple, but there are a lot of meet-cute vibes there.

Valon: Okay, now we get into the territory of my lovable idiot children (which, kudos to whoever knows where I'm stealing this particular name from. If you do, uh, you'll definitely know why this character is the way he is). Aishah's childhood best friend, and the one whose family adopted her. Also the one who's largely responsible for pulling her a bit more out of her shell. He's... just a big dumb idiot? Real big personality, constantly ribbing all of the people he's around and cracking jokes, just likes the energy of being around people in general. Always down to try something new and ridiculous, no matter what it is, even if that means destroying electronics (or the oven). And bluntly honest, but not in a mean way?

Also, he's bi and is pretty often just going out on casual dates for fun. Just sorta waiting to see what happens. But really, he's much more proud of Aishah's love life, though, and gladly takes credit for being the one to get her to ask Celine out.

(Oh, also, cause it was vaguely referenced above: he's the one who was - and is - intimidated by Anders.)

Arina "Ari" Varellian: My other idiot child, but also the character that I probably relate to the most? She grew up around a lot of technology as a kid and developed a good amount of skill with it (coding and stuff - I know nothing about it but she can, it's fine). But what it ultimately did was introduce her to a lot of other pieces of media - video games especially (but also TV and movies are a big part of her life, too). Basically, she's just a glutton for entertainment and fiction and keeps up with all the nerd content.

But she doesn't fall into that "introverted, awkward nerd" type. She gets along really well with Valon, actually - very similar type of big, open personality and always ready with a hearty laugh. She's just here to have a good time, and to try new things (and to force her friends to try new things with her). Basically, she's the person who would go looking for a way to learn parkour after playing something like Assassin's Creed (because it looks cool) or would - and did - plan an entire camping trip after playing Red Dead 2 (because the outside is pretty, guys). Plus, also dragging them into things like escape rooms and D&D games, because these things looked fun.

And, because this is important to me, she's aro ace and very much a way for me to write my perspective? All the "what's up with sex when you could have cake? Or dragons?" and "look, these characters are pretty but why would I sleep with/romance them?" While simultaneously making sex jokes at her friends' expense and shipping fictional characters like there's no tomorrow.

And that's all for today!

The main other characters attached to my Disaster Boys. Tried to keep it short because I'm sleepy, but, as per usual, I could and would gladly talk more about them later (even though some of them do sorta vary in terms of how much I've written and developed them).

Although, a couple last things: I've technically also been sitting on one more character to add into this crew - specifically another friend of Ari's. But I've done markedly less development there, so I'll come back to that some other day. And there are other characters attached to Anders aside from just Elias, I promise. He does have his mentor (whom I mentioned but didn't go into, since I tend to write her more into backstory) and his own found family, but some of those characters belong to a friend, cause that all developed via some D&D sessions. Didn't seem right to add that here.

#from the mind of niennavalier #oc: elias elsker #oc: aishah rayyan #oc: celine #oc: valon #oc: ari varellian #100daysofwriting #and if anyone has some interesting last names hmu i need help #also fun fact i havent played read dead but ive seen pictures so thats what im going off of

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